The U.S. Navy Wants Its Future Jets To Have Their Own Drone

Northrop Grumman

Warzone/The Drive: The US Navy Wants Its EA-18G Growlers to Drop Canisters With Drones Tucked Inside

The disposable unmanned aircraft could then covertly launch electronic electronic attacks, spy on the enemy, and more.

Northrop Grumman says the U.S. Navy is interested in giving its EA-18G Growler jamming aircraft the ability to use modified cluster bomb canisters to deploy and control their own drone swarms to launch broader electronic attacks and collect signals intelligence data. Any fighter jet or bomber could conceivably carry the disposable unmanned aircraft, referred to both as Dash X and Remedy, as well, which might be able to take on covert surveillance and even strike duties in the future.

On Oct. 26, 2017, Northrop Grumman conducted a flight test of the drone at Foothills Regional Airport in Morganton, North Carolina, but launched it from the ground rather than a canister attached to another aircraft. Once the Dash X was in flight, a modified de Havilland Dash-8 twin engine turboprop then successfully established a link to the drone, directing its activities and processing electronic signal information the unmanned aircraft was collecting. The next phase of the project will be to demonstrate the complete airdrop concept, which involves a cluster bomb-like shell containing one of the pilotless planes.

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Update: The Navy’s Next Jet May Have Its Own Drone (Popular Mechanics)

WNU Editor:  The U.S. Navy wants to maximize the capabilities of its Growler jamming fleet, and it looks like this is one of the ways it can be done.